Matt- A reason for an off topic adjacent thread is that it enables people to just chat and not bother the rest of the board, and the chairman wouldn't have to give any "warnings" to anyone to keep the discussion on topic, and cause any hard feelings. A lot of times people actually DO make some sort of friendship, however fleeting, sometimes when they are part of the same stock. Then they just start to kid around and while there's nothing wrong in doing that, it sometimes takes away from the topic. If there's a seperate thread, it keeps the investors togehter but they don't take away from the main thread. It's human nature to form a bond, and the off topic threads help this, so I think they are not a bad idea. besides, some people in the stocks just really don't have much to post about, they are happy just basically lurking, but want to share things with their fellow shareholders. the off topic threads on RB for the most part are sometimes even better than the regular threads. btw I notice Bashers usually don't frequent them since most of the stuff isn't about the stocks, and they can't make "any points" on the off topic threads so they basically just stay away, which makes everyone happy. LOL LOL.
I'm sure that there are more reason for having them than I brought up, and few reasons for not having them. They (off topic threads) are basically harmless.
